hikerchick
Member
- Joined
- May 15, 2013
- Messages
- 58
- Reaction score
- 9
Yeah, if there really is such a thing as "forgotten baby syndrome" then I guess no penalty will act as a deterrent. OTOH, I'm curious to see if new laws will deter parents from purposely leaving their kids locked in a car. Tennessee passed a law in July of 2014 that gives people permission to smash a car window in order to rescue a child inside without being liable for the damage. In July of 2015 they extended it to cover pets too.
As for the "I forgot about my kid" cases, I'm getting a little sick of the "parent has been punished enough" sentiment by prosecutors. Once the investigation is complete then fine - if the evidence shows the parent genuinely forgot then act according to local law, be it no charge, suspended sentence, jail term, whatever. But please, the dead child deserves a thorough investigation, so don't just hand the parent a pass simply because they're the parent.
One case from 2007 really bothers me. In 2007, Brenda Nesselroad-Slaby, the assistant principal whose daughter died wasn't prosecuted because she had suffered enough. What's shocking to me is that a week earlier she had purposely left her in the car briefly. In fact she had a habit of leaving Cecilia in the car - a school official even warned her to stop it. Plus, CCTV showed that she returned to the SUV five times during the day Cecilia died and once moved the SUV to another location in the parking lot. Yet prosecutors called Cecilia's death a "tragic mistake." Case closed.
The mother wasn't prosecuted but I think she should have at the least been charged with negligence. And in the extreme, her actions could be seen as suspicious. I wonder if the investigation would have gone differently if it happened today...
Anyway, I guess what I'm saying is there's a fine line between experiencing some sort of brain dysfunction and letting distactions take priority over your responsibilities to your child and each case needs to be carefully examined before condemning or exonerating the parent.
This case and Cooper are about the only cases that I feel warrant serious charges.